[article]Tony Barrett
Published 1 minute ago
Liverpool are preparing a bid for Christian Benteke but will not lodge it until after Aston Villa
have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Benteke enters the final two years of his contract at Villa Park this summer and Liverpool are
hopeful that an offer of more than £20 million will convince Villa to sell the Belgium
forward, who Brendan Rodgers wants to become the new spearhead of his attack.
Rodgers wants to add greater physicality and firepower to Liverpool’s front line and believes
that Benteke would provide both qualities, hence the 24-year-old emerging as one of the
club’s chief transfer targets before what promises to be another close season of change at
Anfield.
Liverpool have also begun the process of overhauling their squad by preparing the way for
those players Rodgers has deemed surplus to requirements to leave.
In a significant indication of Rodgers’s influence regardless of speculation about his future,
José Enrique, the left back, and Fabio Borini, the forward, have both been told to find
themselves new clubs in recent days.
Neither player features in Rodgers’s plans and Liverpool will look to sell the out-of-favour
duo, with Borini ready to accept that his time at Anfield is over after rejecting a £14 million
transfer to Sunderland last summer to stay and fight for his place.
That decision has backfired. Borini started only three Barclays Premier League games all
season despite Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems and Rodgers’s reluctance to use either
Rickie Lambert or Mario Balotelli. Similarly, Enrique, who has also had injury problems, has
started only twice in the league.
Lambert will be allowed to leave to play regular first-team football, while Balotelli will also
be sold if a buyer can be found, having long been written off as a poor acquisition. Brad Jones
and Glen Johnson are already in the process of securing moves, with their contracts set to
expire in the coming weeks.
The biggest casualty of the cull could be Lazar Markovic, who has struggled to make an
impact since joining Liverpool from Benfica in a £20 million deal last summer. Although
Liverpool retain confidence in the winger’s talent, there is a concern that he may not be
equipped to thrive in English football.
Liverpool continue to work on incoming transfers and deals for Danny Ings and James Milner
are understood to be close.
Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom have both signed contract extensions. Touré has agreed an
additional year, with his present deal set to expire next month, while Wisdom, who has spent
the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, has committed his future to Liverpool until
2019.
Rodgers remains at the heart of Liverpool’s planning and there is nothing to suggest that the
manager’s position is under threat.
Rather than abandoning their managerial structure, in which Rodgers works as part of a
transfer committee, the immediate post-season indications are that Liverpool’s owner,
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is planning a series of refinements and improvements to the
model.
There is no intention to appoint a director of football, but the club’s backroom staff is likely to
be bolstered in keeping with FSG’s belief that Rodgers would benefit from greater support[/article]
Beyond depressing. Giving this fucking clown even more influence.
Just. Fuck. Off.
Published 1 minute ago
Liverpool are preparing a bid for Christian Benteke but will not lodge it until after Aston Villa
have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Benteke enters the final two years of his contract at Villa Park this summer and Liverpool are
hopeful that an offer of more than £20 million will convince Villa to sell the Belgium
forward, who Brendan Rodgers wants to become the new spearhead of his attack.
Rodgers wants to add greater physicality and firepower to Liverpool’s front line and believes
that Benteke would provide both qualities, hence the 24-year-old emerging as one of the
club’s chief transfer targets before what promises to be another close season of change at
Anfield.
Liverpool have also begun the process of overhauling their squad by preparing the way for
those players Rodgers has deemed surplus to requirements to leave.
In a significant indication of Rodgers’s influence regardless of speculation about his future,
José Enrique, the left back, and Fabio Borini, the forward, have both been told to find
themselves new clubs in recent days.
Neither player features in Rodgers’s plans and Liverpool will look to sell the out-of-favour
duo, with Borini ready to accept that his time at Anfield is over after rejecting a £14 million
transfer to Sunderland last summer to stay and fight for his place.
That decision has backfired. Borini started only three Barclays Premier League games all
season despite Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems and Rodgers’s reluctance to use either
Rickie Lambert or Mario Balotelli. Similarly, Enrique, who has also had injury problems, has
started only twice in the league.
Lambert will be allowed to leave to play regular first-team football, while Balotelli will also
be sold if a buyer can be found, having long been written off as a poor acquisition. Brad Jones
and Glen Johnson are already in the process of securing moves, with their contracts set to
expire in the coming weeks.
The biggest casualty of the cull could be Lazar Markovic, who has struggled to make an
impact since joining Liverpool from Benfica in a £20 million deal last summer. Although
Liverpool retain confidence in the winger’s talent, there is a concern that he may not be
equipped to thrive in English football.
Liverpool continue to work on incoming transfers and deals for Danny Ings and James Milner
are understood to be close.
Kolo Touré and Andre Wisdom have both signed contract extensions. Touré has agreed an
additional year, with his present deal set to expire next month, while Wisdom, who has spent
the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, has committed his future to Liverpool until
2019.
Rodgers remains at the heart of Liverpool’s planning and there is nothing to suggest that the
manager’s position is under threat.
Rather than abandoning their managerial structure, in which Rodgers works as part of a
transfer committee, the immediate post-season indications are that Liverpool’s owner,
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is planning a series of refinements and improvements to the
model.
There is no intention to appoint a director of football, but the club’s backroom staff is likely to
be bolstered in keeping with FSG’s belief that Rodgers would benefit from greater support[/article]
Beyond depressing. Giving this fucking clown even more influence.
Just. Fuck. Off.
